adminCARLOS Tevez travelled to Italy yesterday for a medical with Juventus as he prepares for a transfer that means Edin Dzeko is set to stay at Manchester City. The FA Cup finalists have agreed a 9 million euro fee with the Serie A winners for Tevez, who arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2009 from Manchester United.
City could receive a further 6 million euros, depending upon add-ons, for their former captain and are very confident they will get at least 3 million euros of that, a source has told ESPN.
Tevez’s move to Turin could be completed by today or tomorrow, assuming he passes his medical and agrees personal terms with Juventus.
But his departure will mean City are down to just two senior strikers in Sergio Aguero, who recently signed a new contract, and Dzeko.
The Bosnia international, who was unhappy about starting a number of games on the bench last season, has been unsettled and appeared to be a target for Borussia Dortmund, who are likely to need a replacement for the unsettled Robert Lewandowski. However, new City manager Manuel Pellegrini has decided that he wants to keep Dzeko at the Etihad Stadium.
The 2012 Premier League champions, who sold another forward -Mario Balotelli – in January, are now embarking on a search to bolster their frontline.
It is understood, though, that they will not renew their interest in Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, who was identified by former manager Roberto Mancini, but who has a prohibitive 63 million euro buyout clause, and who is also a target for Real Madrid and Chelsea.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was another forward Mancini admired, but Pellegrini will not move for the Uruguay international.
City have also admitted defeat in their bid to persuade Spanish playmaker Isco to follow Pellegrini from Malaga to Manchester after accepting that the 21-year-old would rather join Madrid.
However, they are pleased to have secured their top summer transfer targets in midfielder Fernandinho, from Shakhtar Donetsk, and winger Jesus Navas, from Sevilla.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti said finally delivering the long awaited ‘decima’ – tenth European Cup – was his clear objective at his presentation as Real Madrid’s new coach on yesterday afternoon.
Ancelotti, who won the trophy as both a player and coach at AC Milan, was made aware of his responsibility when given a tour of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu’s glittering trophy room by Blancos president Florentino Perez before he met journalists in the nearby press facility.
The Italian, who it was confirmed has full charge of all footballing matters at Madrid, said that taking on such a big task was not a problem for him, but a motivation.
“We all know that la decima is the big objective, for the club, for everyone,” Ancelotti said. “I have that ambition and that responsibility, that is not a problem for me. Every year the coach has a responsibility. To win la decima is such a big motivation.”
Madrid’s last Champions League title came in 2002, when Zinedine Zidane volleyed in a memorable winning goal over Bayer Leverkusen. Ancelotti confirmed that the Frenchman would be one of his assistant’s next season, without quite clarifying the exact role he would play.
“Zidane will be on the bench, the only pity is he cannot play,” the new boss joked. “Zizou was a fantastic player, everybody knows him, now he has decided to be a coach. I am very happy to work at his side. He will be a very good assistant, along with my usual assistant Paul Clement.”
Ancelotti was also careful to be nice to his former employers Paris Saint-Germain, stressing repeatedly that both he and Madrid retained a friendly relationship with the French club despite the month-long saga as PSG’s Qatari owners first refused to release him, then struggled to find a suitable replacement. “PSG is now the past,” he said. “I want to thank everyone in Paris for the experience I had there, but that is over now. I want to wish luck to everyone there, including [the French club’s new coach] Laurent Blanc.”
Asked about whether he would play a different style of football than his own predecessor at the Bernabeu, Jose Mourinho, Ancelotti said that a club of Madrid’s ‘prestige’ was always tasked with playing an exciting “spectacular” game.
“The most prestigious club in the world needs to win, playing spectacular football, because the history and tradition of this club is to play offensively, spectacularly, and we are going to work to play football that can give happiness to the fans,” the former Chelsea boss said. “This team has lots of quality in attack, and in midfield too. I do not think it will be difficult organise an attacking style.”- Soccernet.
Online Reporter